Related News/Archive

Mandatory recycling? To appease a few tree huggers? Please. The government needs to quit telling the public what to do. I have been in the recycling field for 33 years and I must say this city has one of the finest dropoff programs for recycling around. Why doesn't someone give the city credit and just say "thanks"?

Most single-stream curbside programs throw away 25 percent of recyclables. Then there are all the trucks running around spewing diesel fumes. Please get all the facts before criticizing the current programs.

Joe Baker, St. Petersburg

A city that does it right

If St. Petersburg can't figure out how to handle recycling, come to Pinellas Park and see how it's done. It's about $7 per month on your monthly water/garbage bill. I have a 30-gallon can with wheels and a lid.

We would easily fill that little container in two days that St. Pete gave out.

Think it's not worth it? Try filling a separate can for one week. You may be surprised at the amount of recyclables you are throwing out per week.

James Molloy, Pinellas Park

CEOs bullish on Florida, unlike workers May 8

Workers then as now

Tampa Bay Times' Robert Trigaux quotes studies that CEOs rank Florida as No. 2 in the nation as the best state for business while workers rank Florida No. 47 concerning their own well-being. How different would these numbers be for Florida in 1861 when half the people of the state were "employed" as slaves?

In an ironic coincidence, large planters (owners of 50 slaves or more) made up less than 1 percent of the state's total population. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Fred Jacobsen, Apollo Beach

Private enterprise at work

Profit trumps service

"Why does this have to be so complicated?" asked my perplexed wife as she waded through Medicare options on her retirement — Options A through J, Medicare supplement versus Medicare Advantage programs, prescription drug company choices, etc. And as soon as you seek information, the phone rings because private insurers have infiltrated the system like maggots. How did we let profit trump service in how the government conducts its business and then blame government for the problems created?

Charles Bishop, St. Pete Beach

Methodists keep stand against gays | May 5

One church led the way

While it is disappointing that the United Methodist Church has voted not to approve language welcoming homosexuals within its church family, it is encouraging to those Christians who are accepting of gays and lesbians that there are other denominations that do. As the article states, within the past few years Episcopal, Lutheran and Presbyterian denominations have voted to end prohibitions on openly gay clergy. Not cited is the fact that the United Church of Christ — one of the oldest of the mainline Protestant church groups dating back to the 17th century — began ordaining openly gay and lesbian clergy in the early to mid 1970s.

Rick Carson, St. Petersburg

Santorum endorses Romney | May 8

Political talk as usual

Another politician bites the dust and endorses the candidate he once referred to as the "worst Republican in the country." It doesn't take a genius to deduce that politicians say what the people want to hear regardless of their true intentions, which inevitably are based on purely selfish reasons. Remembering the last presidential race, Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama pulled no punches as to their opponent's attributes. The winner prevailed, and Hillary got her appointment. When will people open their eyes to this self-serving government?

Rick Burgess, Land O'Lakes

Putnam, the pol who proves refreshingly sane | May 8, column

'Gov. Putnam' sounds nice

After reading this article by one of the best, if not the best, pens in the Times arsenal, I have one thing to say: Adam Putnam for governor!

Don Mott, Largo

Spinning the Good Book | May 8, letter

Camus said it best

The letter misses the salient point. We should act with integrity because we personally determine it is the right thing to do. Following what is written in a book is meaningless unless we personally make the decision to act with integrity.

As Albert Camus wrote, "Integrity has no need of rules."

Gerard Meyn, Dunnellon

IRS losing the fight to scammers May 7, editorial

High time for flat tax

Another reason for a flat tax on all financial transactions. No refunds to be scammed.

Fred J. Sherman, St. Petersburg

May 8 stories

Billed and sickened

News in my May 8 Tampa Bay Times says that customers can do nothing about their electricity bills from Progress Energy that include charges for some kind of phantom nuclear plant that no one probably wants anyway and that BPA in our food supply could cause breast cancer in monkeys. Another story says Russians are protesting against Putin's re-election.

I'm starting to envy the Russians. At least they know whom to blame. Here we seem to have to blame ourselves for buying into propaganda in political ads that gets us to vote for politicians who are in the pockets of special interests.

The article on the BPA concludes that our FDA says it hasn't been proven that these are harmful. If these companies were putting bugs in our children's food, we would see them and protest. Because chemicals are invisible, we do nothing, and I'm pretty sure chemicals in this case are worse than bugs.